Page 262 of Midnights
“But don’t worry, I didn’t peek inside your head during our little scuffle. I wanted to see what you could do without the advantage. And you, my dear, aredangerouslyunderestimated.”
Cam groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Elle, could younotinflate her ego any more than it already is?”
I grin, completely unfazed. “Oh you mean,the ego that goes with my pretty face?”
Elle cackles and Cam exhales slowly. He levels Elle with a look. “To answer the question I know you're going to ask, people don’t beat Elle, because she’s one of ourCommanding Officers.”There's a flicker of pride in his tone. “And she’snearlyimpossible to beat.”
My head snaps to Elle and my stomach flips. “Wait,WHAT?”
She nods, entirely unbothered. “Looks like I might have to train with you more often, since everyone else is too afraid to get hurt.”
Then, like she didn’t just casually ruin my day, she winks at me again. “Anyway, good game. Raincheck for our night out. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. Take a bath and use the hazy lavender bottle.”
Then she turns and bounces down the path.
Cam exhales, shaking his head. “You did good, Rae.”
Rae?The nickname sends a flicker of warmth through my chest, curling around something fragile. A tingle rushes down my spine, and I swallow hard, blinking rapidly to push back the sudden swell of emotion.
I shift my gaze to the horizon, where the sun is dipping below the hills. Never in a million years did I picture my life turning out like this. Coming to Scotland, meeting these people, feeling this strange, undeniable pull toward a world I never knew existed. And the wildest part is… I don’t want to leave. For whatever reason, being here feels right.
I inhale deeply, forcing my voice into something lighter. “So when do I get to kick your ass?”
Cam chuckles, shaking his head. “Let’s save that for another day.” He picks up my sweater, handing it to me. “If you’re up for it, we could try something different before dinner. Maybe a little magic?”
“Yes!” I blurt, suddenly forgetting how much my body hurts. Turns out all it takes is the word magic to rearrange my priorities.
“Let’s go, dork.”
We’ve been sitting in his office for the last hour, and nothing's happened.
I take a deep breath, resisting the urge to bang my head against the desk. First, we meditated. Which I thought was interesting. Then, Cam led me through some simple exercises. And still, nothing. No tingling hands. No sparks of power.No inexplicable holy shit moments.
Just… nothing.
And Ihatethat I’m this disappointed.
I was starting to warm up to the idea that maybe all of this was real. That maybe I was something more than I thought, and maybe I belonged here. I hoped this would give me the answer I needed about what’s been happening to me, but it didn't give me anything.
Cam did say I couldn’t have found this place if I didn’t have magic. So where the hell is it?
“Rae.”
Cam’s voice cuts through my thoughts, sharp enough to startle me.
I shake it off, looking over at him. “What? Sorry, I was just… thinking.”
His eyes narrow slightly, but his voice stays even. “It’s in there, don’t worry, I can feel it.”
Iwantto believe him. But right now, his reassurance doesn’t do much to untangle the frustration knotting in my chest.Wait…feel it?
“You can feel it?”
“If I hadn’t been so shocked to see you in the woods, I would’ve picked up on it then.” His brows pull together slightly, like he’s piecing it together in real-time. “But when you were sleeping, and the storms were happening, I felt it again. I couldsmellit. I knew it was yours. So yeah, it’s in there.”
My stomach flips and a sharp, uneasy prickle runs down my spine.
My hand clamps down on his arm without warning as shock sparks through me. “Smell me?”
